1. Field
The invention relates to boat trailers in general and more particularly to boat trailers which facilitate the launch and loading of boats into and from a body of water at an inclined launching ramp.
2. State of the Art
Prior art boat trailers are typically rigid, unitary, structures, which, to launch the boat, are backed into a body of water down an incline until the boat floats free of side restraints, which have sunk into the water along with the trailer. Precariously unrestrained, the boat may be buffeted by waves and wind, and perhaps damaged even before it is detached from the trailer. Boat recovery and loading is subject to the same difficulties and dangers. The prior art reveals few devices to improve boat trailers to facilitate water launching and loading. Many are directed to raising and lowering the boat carrying platform on level, dry, ground, to aid in loading and unloading heavy objects for transport overland. U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,754,129 and 2,621,942, e.g. U.S. Pat. No. 3,663,040 discloses a similar trailer for transporting boats from point to point within a boat fabrication, display, and sales yard. None of these devices are suited for use with boat launching and loading by way of inclined ramps, doing nothing to control the direction or attitude of the boat. The device disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,494,630 permits the boat to be launched closer to the shoreline, by lowering the boat platform upon the associated wheel carriage. The device disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,529,217 provides some directional control of a boat during loading. A pair of outrigger arms at the rear of the trailer diverge when freed of the weight of the boat in deep water, and return to vertical to center the boat when withdrawn from the water. However, this device does nothing to aid control of the boat during launch. U.S. Pat. No. 4,395,185 discloses two embodiments for maintaining a level attitude of the boat-carrying portion of the trailer when backed down a launching incline. Each embodiment carries a pair of flotation units at the rear of the boat-carrying portion and both involve complex linkages and multiple pivots acting between the boat-carrying portion and the remainder of the trailer.
The need therefore remains for an improved boat trailer for launching and loading boats from bodies of water at inclined ramps in the presence of buffeting wind and wave.